Date: ​March 7, 2019

To: ​Missouri Department of Social Services

From: ​Hannah Olson
RE: ​A proposal to adding a countywide Christian homing and care system for children
who have been maltreated and abused.

Introduction

I am proposing a countywide solution to the common abuse happening everywhere in

our world to defenseless children. The most common form of abuse is neglect, and
nearly five children die everyday from neglection. I propose that your department help
me reach my goal of creating this Christian home for children who are in desperate
need. This home would consist of infants up to children of 18 years of age, and this
home would help nourish them, receive love, and help with the problems caused by
foster care systems. Although children of all ages are affected by neglect and
maltreatment, it is the children who are the most vulnerable and most affected. The
abuse changes their mentalities because their brains are not fully developed and it
causes so many different issues for them while growing up including mental problems
like depression, anxiety, ADHD, chronic stress, and rage symptoms, health problems,
behavioral problems, alcohol and drug abuse, learning and development problems, and
even for some cases, suicide. Most of the time, no one has any real idea of how many
children everywhere are abused, maltreated, and neglected in some way. This home
would make such a difference for so many children, and teach them the path of Jesus
while receiving a love that they never had the opportunity to experience. In this home
we would have trained professionals who are working with these children in a positive
way, and in a way that makes them grow spiritually, mentally,and even physically.

Description

This proposal has so much room for potential and such a high possibility of rescuing
and saving children's lives. This system would provide a place for children to stay and
be taught schooling while in a christian environment. Providing love and a good path for
children can help them to flourish into bright young adults and set them up for a great
future. This place would help to heal the kids with the power of love, family, and Jesus.
Our vision would be “a home for every child” because that is my mission, to give and
help these children as much as I can. We would provide care for anyone who needs it,
teen mothers, siblings who don't want to be split up, or even young mothers. Child
maltreatment and neglect is such an invisible crisis happening all around us, every
single day seven to eleven children are removed from their homes due to neglect,
abuse or abandonment.

Normal Foster care systems are designed to help this issue too, although most times it
provides an even worse outcome for these children that many people are unaware of.
When children are put into the foster care system, many siblings are forced to be torn
apart and separated from each other, sent out of the country, and even to other homes.
These children never get the chance to feel loved, appreciated, listened to, etc. This
crisis expands as far as young adults who are already out of the foster system because
of their age and are thrown into the world with no life skills, experiences, a family, or
anyone helping them. It also includes young women who never planned to get pregnant,
and have no shelter or refuge or resources to change their situation or help them. This
is exactly what I want to change. I want this care system to be open arms for these
people, I truly believe in this case, it is the more the merrier. I want to change these
kids, teens, and young adults future and lives for the better and set them up for success
just by simply giving them an ear that listens, a shoulder they can lean on, and
someone that will give them real genuine love. I would like this system to be an
environment that feels safe and secure, with equipped workers and caregivers to bring
a fresh sense of value and love into their hearts. I would like to offer different living
arrangements that will meet different situations like keeping siblings together, providing
teens with a real loving family, and even give a sanctuary for girls and women at risk of
trafficking.

This Christian foster home will also help find loving and caring parents looking to adopt,
and make sure that these people will actually love and take care of their children and
raise them to be successful and cared for. This is something that normal community
foster cares lack, they don't really look into the people they are giving these kids to, and
they do not care if families are ripped apart or separate. I want this care system to be
drastically different, I want to have staff that specifically work with finding homes for
these kids under their circumstances.

I want this care system to catch the attention of people who live around the area, and I
would like to set up a web page in which people can see what this place does, what our
mission is, and how they can help if they wish to. There will be donation options, career
options, and even volunteer options for people who would like to get involved. This
helps get the word out and it shows that this is something that could make such a big
difference for so many people's lives including babies, teens, young adults, mothers,
siblings, you name it.

Case Studies

The “Child Welfare Information Giveaway,” states that individual outcomes can vary
depending on the child's age and when the abuse occurred, which type of abuse
occurred (physical, emotional, sexual, neglect, etc.), the frequency and severity of the
abuse, and the relationship between the individual and the perpetrator. These can all
have physiological consequences, physical health problems, mental health problems,
behavioral problems, drug abuse, and societal consequences. Because this is ongoing
and happening all around, all together it can not only affect the children getting abused
but also the community as a whole. Therefore, it is so important for communities to
make efforts of prevention and provide remediation and treatment when needed.
The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being no 18. Instability and Early Life
Changes Among Children in the Child Welfare System states that the younger the child
is, the more vulnerable they are to maltreatment. These young children are also the
most vulnerable and effected by the consequences of the maltreatment. “More than one
third (34%) of all 2010 victims and 79.4% of the children who died as a result of child
abuse and neglect were younger than four years old.” Also, the younger the children
are, the more likely they will be taken out of foster care and put into a home with a
family, which gives them a fifty-fifty chance of a good family, and leaves the older
children in the foster system for a longer time, increasing their risks of maltreatment and
adversities.
 References

Iannelli, Vincent. “How Common Is Child Abuse?” ​Verywell Mind,​ Dotdash,

www.verywellmind.com/child-abuse-statistics-2633350.

“Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect for Children and Adolescents.” ​Australian Institute
of Family Studies​, 27 Jan. 2014,
aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/effects-child-abuse-and-neglect-children-and-adolescents.

“The 4KIDS Model.” ​4KIDS - 4KIDS, Inc.​, www.4kids.us/about/4KIDSModel.

Scholarly:

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). Long-term consequences of child abuse

and neglect. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Children’s Bureau.

“National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, No. 18: Instability and Early Life
Changes Among Children in the Child Welfare System.” ​Children's Bureau | ACF,​
www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/national-survey-of-child-and-adolescent-well-being-no-1
8-instability-and.